IC device conveying apparatus

ABSTRACT

An IC device conveying apparatus includes an IC device conveying shuttle, at least a pair of slide guide plates which are placed on the IC device conveying shuttle, and each of which has a plurality of slide guide holes, each of the plurality of slide guide holes being made in a direction inclined to a side of a corresponding slide guide plate, and a plurality of positioning members which guide the placed pair of slide guide plates such that the pair of slide guide plates slides in directions in which sides of the respective slide guide plates are separated from and come into contact with each other, the positioning members being secured to the IC device conveying shuttle and engaged with the plurality of slide guide holes, wherein each of the pair of slide guide plates comprises at least one IC device holding side on a side thereof facing a side of another slide guide plate, and an IC device is placed in an IC device holding space which is formed between at least a pair of the IC device holding sides of the pair of slide guide plates on a top surface of the IC device conveying shuttle, and is held between the pair of the IC device holding sides.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an IC handler, and more particularly toan IC device conveying apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, an IC handler is used in association with, for example,an IC device conveying apparatus which is used when an IC device to betested is sequentially taken out from a location where manufactured ICdevices are collected, and a single or a plurality of IC devices aresent to an IC tester for testing.

A conventional IC device conveying apparatus is configured as a shuttletable. In order to precisely convey a single or a plurality of ICdevices placed on the shuttle table to a testing position in asubsequent process, the IC device(s) needs to be held precisely in apredetermined position on the shuttle table. For this purpose, an ICdevice holding apparatus is used.

For a conventional IC device holding apparatus, for example, an ICdevice holder is used having an IC device receiving portion in which anexcavated pocket is formed in a surface of a shuttle table in accordancewith the shape of an IC device or an excavated pocket is formed in thesurface of the shuttle table in accordance with the shape of a guidepart which holds an IC device and an IC device is inserted in andsecured to the excavated pocket.

Many of IC devices to be tested have a square or rectangular outer shapebut IC devices have diverse types and diverse outer dimensions. Thus, ina conventional shuttle table, there is a need to individually form anexcavated pocket having dimensions that can accept an IC device holderhaving a receiving portion which is formed in accordance with the outerdimensions of an IC device to be tested, and prepare in advance aplurality of such pockets as change kits for respective IC deviceshaving different outer dimensions. Accordingly, it takes a lot of costto produce change kits and also it takes a lot of trouble to change achange kit.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

As described above, in a conventional shuttle table, there is a need toprepare in advance change kits for respective IC devices havingdifferent outer dimensions. Accordingly, there are problems in that ittakes a lot of cost to produce change kits and also it takes a lot oftrouble to change a change kit.

To solve the problems, the present invention provides an IC deviceconveying apparatus configured to universally handle various IC deviceswithout using change kits.

In view of the above-described problems, an object of the presentinvention is therefore to provide an IC device conveying apparatus whichcan convey IC devices to a next process easily and precisely and at lowcost.

The present invention provides an IC device conveying apparatuscomprising:

an IC device conveying shuttle;

at least a pair of slide guide plates which are placed on the IC deviceconveying shuttle, and each of which has a plurality of slide guideholes, each of said plurality of slide guide holes being made in adirection inclined to a side of a corresponding slide guide plate; and

a plurality of holding pins which hold the placed pair of slide guideplates such that the pair of slide guide plates slides in directions inwhich sides of the respective slide guide plates are separated from andcome into contact with each other, the holding pins being secured to theIC device conveying shuttle and engaged with said plurality of slideguide holes,

wherein each of the pair of slide guide plates comprises at least one ICdevice holding side on a side thereof facing a side of another slideguide plate; and an IC device is placed in an IC device holding spacewhich is formed between a pair of the IC device holding sides of thepair of slide guide plates on a top surface of the IC device conveyingshuttle, and is held between the pair of the IC device holding sides.

According to the invention, an IC device conveying apparatus can beprovided which can hold an IC device irrespective of the outerdimensions of the IC device, without changing a holding part such as achange kit, and can reduce IC handling cost, and can easily andprecisely convey the IC device to a next process.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectsand advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means ofthe instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed outhereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, andtogether with the general description given above and the detaileddescription of the embodiments given below, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an IC deviceconveying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the IC device conveyingapparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing examples of jigs used forpositioning of slide guide plates for IC devices which are used in theIC device conveying apparatus according to the embodiment shown in FIGS.1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration of an IC device conveyingapparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing cams and a driving unit for the cams whichare shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing another example of an operating positionof the IC device conveying apparatus according to the embodiment shownin FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of an ICdevice conveying apparatus according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention. The IC device conveying apparatus comprises, asprincipal components, a shuttle 1 which is a substrate of the conveyingapparatus; and two pairs of slide guide plates 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B whichare placed on the shuttle 1.

The slide guide plate 2A comprises three slide holes 2A1, 2A2, and 2A3having an oblique angle of about 45 degrees, for example, with respectto a linear outer side thereof. Likewise, other slide guide plates 2B,3A, and 3B also comprise three slide holes 2B1, 2B2, and 2B3, 3A1, 3A2,and 3A3, and 3B1, 3B2, and 3B3 formed therein, respectively.

A guide pin 4 is inserted into the slide hole 2A2 and secured by a bolt3AB to a top surface of the shuttle 1. Bolts 4A are respectively screwedinto the slide holes 2A1 and 2A3 provided at both ends. The heads of thebolts 4A are formed to be larger than the width of the slide holes 2A1and 2A3. Thus, the position of the slide guide plate 2A is controlled bythe guide pin 4 and the bolts 4A being loosened. With the bolts 4A beingloosened, the slide guide plate 2A is controlled by the guide pin 4 toslide along the slide hole 2A2. As a result, the slide guide plate 2Acan freely move on the surface of the shuttle 1 in parallel along theslide holes 2A1, 2A2, and 2A3. Other slide guide plates 2B, 3A, and 3Bare also similarly formed so as to freely move on the surface of theshuttle 1 in parallel along the slide holes 2B1, 2B2, and 2B3, 3A1, 3A2,and 3A3, and 3B1, 3B2, and 3B3, by their respective guide pins 4 andbolts 4A being loosened.

A plurality of guide pins 5 are further mounted on the shuttle 1 and arescrewed with cap screws 5A from the back side of the shuttle 1. Theguide pins 5 are used, for example, to perform positioning when a robotarm picks up an IC device conveyed while being placed on the shuttle 1,in a testing process performed later on. The guide pins 5 are notdirectly related to the present invention and thus further descriptionthereof is omitted.

The slide guide plate 2A has four IC device holding sides 2A4 to 2A7formed on a side thereof. The slide guide plate 2B facing the slideguide plate 2A also has four IC device holding sides 2B4 to 2B7 on aside thereof. Likewise, other slide guide plates 3A and 3B alsorespectively have four IC device holding sides 3A4 to 3A7 and 3B4 to 3B7formed on sides thereof facing each other. Thus, four IC device holdingspaces S are formed between the pair of slide guide plates 2A and 2B andbetween the pair of slide guide plates 3A and 3B.

(A) in FIG. 2 is a top view of the slide guide plates 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3Bbeing mounted on the shuttle 1 shown in FIG. 1. The slide guide plate 2Amoves on the surface of the shuttle 1 in parallel along the slide holes2A1, 2A2, and 2A3 by the guide pin 4 and the bolts 4A. (A) in FIG. 2shows a state in which the slide guide plate 2A is located in a positionthat is substantially in the middle of a movable range which iscontrolled by the slide holes 2A1, 2A2, and 2A3. Likewise, other slideguide plates 2B, 3A, and 3B also move on the surface of the shuttle 1 bytheir respective guide pins 4 and bolts 4A. (A) in FIG. 2 shows a statein which each of the slide guide plates 2B, 3A, and 3B is located in aposition that is substantially in the middle of a movable range thereof.

As described in FIG. 1, the slide guide plate 2A has the four IC deviceholding sides 2A4 to 2A7 formed at regular intervals on a side thereof.The slide guide plate 2B facing the side of the slide guide plate 2Aalso has the four IC device holding sides 2B4 to 2B7 formed at regularintervals on a side thereof. The four IC device holding spaces S areformed between the slide guide plates 2A and 2B. Other slide guideplates 3A and 3B also respectively have the four IC device holding sides3A4 to 3B7 and 3B4 to 3B7 formed at regular intervals on sides thereoffacing each other, and the four IC device holding spaces S are formedbetween the slide guide plates 3A and 3B.

In a portion of the surface of the shuttle 1 exposed in the IC deviceholding spaces S, insertion holes S1 for IC device holding jigs are madein precise positions.

The IC device holding jigs have shapes, for example, shown in (A) and(B) in FIG. 3. A jig 11 in (A) in FIG. 3 is configured to comprise aninsertion end 11A which is inserted into a jig insertion hole S1, andcomprise a cylindrical IC device holding portion 11B adjacent to theinsertion end 11A, and a knob portion 11C. A jig 12 in (B) in FIG. 3 isconfigured to comprise an insertion end 12A which is inserted into aninsertion hole S1, and comprise a cylindrical IC device holding portion12B adjacent to the insertion end 12A, and a knob portion 12C. The ICdevice positioning portions 11B and 12B can take various configurationsand shapes, according to the shapes of IC devices to be held.

(B) in FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the shuttle 1 taken alongline B-B of (A) in FIG. 2 and viewed in a direction of arrows B-B, toshow the side shapes of the IC device holding sides 2A4 to 2A7 formed ona side of the slide guide plate 2A. Similarly, (C) in FIG. 2 is across-sectional view of the shuttle 1 taken along line C-C of (A) inFIG. 2 and viewed in a direction of arrows C-C, to show the side shapesof the IC device holding sides 2A4 to 3B4 in a longitudinal direction ofthe slide guide plates 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B.

In (C) in FIG. 2, the IC device holding side 2A4 of the slide guideplate 2A has an L shape formed by a first holding surface 15A which isformed in a longitudinal direction thereof, and a second holding surface15B which is formed in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinaldirection. As shown in (B) in FIG. 2, the second holding surface 15Balso has an inclined surface formed inclined to the surface of theshuttle 1. As shown in (C) in FIG. 2, the first holding surface 15A alsohas an inclined surface formed inclined to the surface of the shuttle 1.Each of other IC device holding sides 2A5 to 2A7 of the slide guideplate 2A also has two inclined surfaces which are formed in directionsorthogonal to each other and in the same manner as above.

The slide guide plate 2B facing the slide guide plate 2A also has the ICdevice holding sides 2B4 to 2B7 formed in the same manner as above. Forexample, the IC device holding side 2B4 has, as shown in (A) in FIG. 2,an inverted L shape formed by a first holding surface 16A which isformed to face the first holding surface 15A formed on the IC deviceholding side 2A4 of the slide guide plate 2A, and a second holdingsurface 16B which is formed to face the second holding surface 15B. Eachof other IC device holding sides 2B5 to 2B7 of the slide guide plate 2Balso has an inverted L shape formed by two inclined surfaces which areformed in directions orthogonal to each other and in the same manner asthe holding side 2B4.

The other pair of slide guide plates 3A and 3B also have the IC deviceholding sides 3A4 to 3A7 and 3B4 to 2B7 formed on sides thereof facingeach other, in the same manner as above.

In this state, for example, an operator moves the slide guide plate 2Ain a direction approaching the slide guide plate 2B on the surface ofthe shuttle 1 in parallel along the slide holes 2A1, 2A2, and 2A3, withthe slide guide plate 2A being controlled by the guide pin 4 and theloosened bolts 4A. As a result, the first holding surface 15A of the ICdevice holding side 2A4 formed on the side of the slide guide plate 2Acomes into contact with, for example, a positioning portion 11B of a jig11. The IC device holding side 2A4 is formed such that, at this time,the second holding surface 15B formed in the direction orthogonal to thedirection of the first holding surface 15A also comes into contact withthe positioning portion 11B of the jig 11 at the same time. For example,when the slide holes 2A1, 2A2, and 2A3 are made at an angle of 45degrees with respect to the longitudinal direction of the slide plate2A, the IC device holding side 2A4 is formed such that the first holdingsurface 15A and the second holding surface 15B have substantially equaldistances to a side of the positioning portion 11B of the jig 11 whichis secured in the center of the IC device holding space S. At the sametime, other IC device holding sides 2A5 to 2A7 formed on the side of theslide guide plate 2A also come into contact with jigs 11 in theircorresponding holding spaces. By the operator tightening the two bolts4A in this state, the slide guide plate 2A is secured in that position.

Meanwhile, the slide guide plate 2B is caused to move in a directionapproaching the slide guide plate 2A on the surface of the shuttle 1 inparallel along the slide holes 2B1, 2B2, and 2B3, by the guide pin 4 andthe loosened bolts 4A. As a result, first holding surfaces 16A and 16Bof the respective IC device holding sides 2B4 to 2B7 formed on the sideof the slide guide plate 2B also stop in positions in which the firstand second holding surfaces 16A and 16B come into contact with theircorresponding jigs 11. Then, the slide guide plate 2B is secured in thesame manner as above by the bolts 4A.

Likewise, the other pair of slide guide plates 3A and 3B also stop andare secured in positions in which the slide guide plates 3A and 3B comeinto contact with jigs which hold IC devices. When the securing is done,the jigs 11 are removed, forming holding spaces S. When jigs 12 areused, too, the slide guide plates 2A and 2B are positioned and securedin the same manner as above.

As such, even when the dimensions of IC devices to be tested arechanged, only by replacing, if necessary, jigs 11 with jigs 12, forexample, the changed dimensions can be handled without changing theslide guide plates 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B. Accordingly, an IC deviceconveying apparatus can be provided that can reduce the cost and troubleof the IC device conveying apparatus and can easily and precisely conveyIC devices to a next process.

Although, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the case has beendescribed in which the operator slides and secures the slide guideplates 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B on the surface of the shuttle 1 by hand, theslide guide plates 2A, 2B, 3A, and 3B may be moved using a steppermotor, instead of the operator sliding the slide guide plates 2A, 2B,3A, and 3B by hand.

A second embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to6.

In FIG. 4, a pair of slide guide plates 2A and 2B are slidably mountedon a top surface of a shuttle 1 in the same manner as in the firstembodiment. In the second embodiment, pairs of linear guide bars 20A and20B are configured to be secured to the slide guide plate 2A and theshuttle 1, respectively, instead of slide holes, a guide pin, and bolts,and to slide in the same direction as the slide holes. Likewise, pairsof linear guide bars 20A and 20B are secured to the other slide guideplate 2B and the shuttle 1, respectively. FIG. 4 shows a state in whichthe slide guide plates 2A and 2B are farthest away from each other.

An operating arm 21 is secured to one end of the slide guide plate 2Aand an operating arm 22 is secured to one end of the other slide guideplate 2B. One operating arm 22 is urged to be always pulled, by anextension spring 23, in a direction toward the guide plate 2A facing theslide guide plate 2B, along the pairs of linear guide bars 20A and 20B.In contrast, the operating arm 21 secured to the one end of the slideguide plate 2A is urged to be always pulled, by the same extensionspring 23, in a direction toward the guide plate 2B facing the slideguide plate 2A, along the pairs of linear guide bars 20A and 20B.

Cam rollers 24A and 24B are rotatably secured to the respective ends ofthe operating arms 21 and 22. The cam rollers 24A and 24B are pressedagainst the operating surfaces of their respective special cams 25A and25B by the tension of the extension spring 23. Thus, when the cams 25Aand 25B rotate, the positions of the cam rollers 24A and 24B moveaccording to the rotation. According to the movement, the operating arms21 and 22 are driven to slide the slide guide plates 2A and 2B such thatthe slide guide plates 2A and 2B simultaneously move in parallel alongthe linear guide bars 20A and 20B in directions in which they areseparated from and come into contact with each other.

As shown in (A) in FIG. 5, one cam 25A rotates about a camshaft 25C.According to the rotation, the distance from the camshaft 25C to the camoperating surface changes between a minimum position and a maximumposition. Thus, the position of the cam roller 24A also changes. Theother cam 25B is formed such that the cam roller 24B is separated fromand comes into contact with the cam roller 24A in synchronization withthe cam roller 24A and in an opposite direction to that of the camroller 24A between the minimum and maximum positions thereof, accordingto the rotation of the cam 25B. In this manner, the slide guide plates2A and 2B slide so as to be separated from and come into contact witheach other in synchronization with each other.

The camshaft 25A has, as shown in (B) in FIG. 5, the cams 25A and 25Bsecured thereto and has, as shown in (C) in FIG. 5, a cam rotation wheel26 secured thereto. A worm gear 27 meshes with the wheel 26 and astepper motor 28 is coupled to a rotating shaft of the worm gear 27.

For example, an origin position detection sensor 29 is mounted inrelation to the operating surface of the cam 25A, to detect the originof the rotation position of the cam 25A and stop the rotation of thestepper motor 28. An output from the sensor 29 is used to control adrive pulse power supply of the stepper motor 28. The stepper motor 28,the sensor 29, the drive pulse power supply, etc., are connected to andcontrolled by a motor controller (not shown).

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the cams 25A and 25B rotate to a positionin which the cam rollers 24A and 24B are pushed out to the farthestposition from the rotation axis 25A, and the pair of slide guide plates2A and 2B is located in a position farthest away from each other. Incontrast, FIG. 6 shows the case in which the pair of slide guide plates2A and 2B approach closest to each other. In this case, the extensionspring 23 is in its most compressed state. FIG. 6 shows a state in whichthe cams 25A and 25B rotate to a position in which the cam rollers 24Aand 24B come to the closest position from the rotation axis 25A, and thepair of slide guide plates 2A and 2B is located in a position closest toeach other.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the rotation position of thestepper motor 28 is determined according to the number of pulsessupplied to the stepper motor. Thus, the relative distance between thepair of slide guide plates 2A and 2B is determined.

In this manner, when the stepper motor 28 rotates, the operating arm 21is operated by the cam 25A to move the slide guide plate 2A on thesurface of the shuttle 1 in parallel in a direction, for example,approaching the slide guide plate 2B.

In this case, by controlling, by the motor controller, the number ofpulses supplied to the stepper motor 28, the slide guide plate 2A movesto a position appropriate to the IC device size and an IC device holdingside 2A4 formed on a side of the slide guide plate 2A can be held in aposition in which a device holding space S is formed, without using ajig 11 or 12 in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. At the same time,other IC device holding sides 2A5 to 2A7 formed on the side of the slideguide plate 2A are also held in positions in which their correspondingdevice holding spaces S are formed.

Likewise, by the rotation of the stepper motor 28, the operating arm 22is operated by the cam 25B to move the slide guide plate 2B on thesurface of the shuttle 1 in parallel in a direction approaching theslide guide plate 2A. As a result, an IC device holding side 2B4 formedon a side of the slide guide plate 2B moves to a position correspondingto, for example, the position in which the IC device holding side 2B4comes into contact with the jig 11 or 12 in the embodiment shown inFIGS. 1 and 2. As a result, first holding surfaces 16A and 16B of therespective IC device holding sides 2B4 to 2B7 formed on the side of theslide guide plate 2B stop in positions in which their correspondingdevice holding spaces S are formed.

In the configuration for the case of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and2, by employing the same configuration as that in FIG. 4, the IC deviceholding sides 3A4 to 3A7 and 3B4 to 3B7 formed on sides of the otherpair of slide guide plates 3A and 3B similarly stop and are held inpositions corresponding to the positions in which the IC device holdingsides 3A4 to 3A7 and 3B4 to 3B7 come into contact with the jig 11 or 12in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, without using jigs.

Here, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the bolts 4A are used to holdthe slide guide plate 2A in its stop position. On the other hand, in theembodiment shown in FIG. 4, instead of the operator tightening bolts,the slide guide plate 2A is held in the position by a combination of thewheel 26 and the worm gear 27. Furthermore, for example, though notshown, the configuration may be such that with a coil spring, which isformed longer in length than the thickness of the slide guide plate 2A,being slipped over a bolt 4A, the coil spring is pressed against thesurface of the shuttle 1 by the head of the bolt 4A. As a result, a biasforce is applied to the slide guide plate 2A by the coil spring in adirection away from the shuttle 1 and thus the slide guide plate 2A isheld stably in that position. Other slide guide plates 2B, 3A, and 3Bare also held in the same manner as above. As a result, IC devices areheld stably between the slide guide plates 2A and 2B and between theslide guide plates 3A and 3B, without using the bolts 4A.

Additional advantages and modifications will readily occur to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the invention in its broader aspects isnot limited to the specific details and representative embodiments shownand described herein. Accordingly, various modifications may be madewithout departing from the spirit or scope of the general inventiveconcept as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

1. An IC device conveying apparatus comprising: an IC device conveyingshuttle; at least a pair of slide guide plates which are placed on theIC device conveying shuttle, and each of which has a plurality of slideguide holes, each of said plurality of slide guide holes being made in adirection inclined to a side of a corresponding slide guide plate; and aplurality of holding pins which hold the placed pair of slide guideplates such that the pair of slide guide plates slides in directions inwhich sides of the respective slide guide plates are separated from andcome into contact with each other, the holding pins being secured to theIC device conveying shuttle and engaged with said plurality of slideguide holes, wherein each of the pair of slide guide plates comprises atleast one IC device holding side on a side thereof facing a side ofanother slide guide plate; and an IC device is placed in an IC deviceholding space which is formed between a pair of the IC device holdingsides of the pair of slide guide plates on a top surface of the ICdevice conveying shuttle, and is held between the pair of the IC deviceholding sides.
 2. The IC device conveying apparatus according to claim1, wherein an insertion hole for an IC device holder is made in a middleof the IC device holding space on the top surface of the IC deviceconveying shuttle.
 3. The IC device conveying apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein an operating arm is secured to each of the pair ofslide guide plates, to move the pair of slide guide plates in directionsin which the slide guide plates are separated from and come into contactwith each other along said plurality of holding pins.
 4. The IC deviceconveying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a camapparatus which drives the operating arms; and a stepper motor whichdrives the cam apparatus.